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Z18SSB Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

All installation instructions for Z18SSB parts

These instructions have been submitted by other PartSelect customers and can help guide you through the refrigerator repair with useful information like difficulty of repair, length of repair, tools needed, and more.

Temp alarm sounding and food on top shelves partially thawed

After silencing the alarm, it seemed to be running as normal without any unusual noises, but food was starting to thaw from the top shelf on down and condensation was dripping from the roof. We were able to place most of the food in 2 large ice chests and then the rest in the freezer compartments of 2 fridges we have in the house. I then turned down the temp dial to the coldest setting and let it run for an hour or so; no change.

After researching on the internet, it sounded like our symptoms could be pointing to a defrost timer issue. I pulled the freezer away from the wall, located the timer and used a large screwdriver to slowly advance it. While doing this, at one point I could hear the compressor kick in. I pushed the quick freeze button and let it run for a while. When I checked it in a few hours, the alarm light had gone out and water that I had placed inside was frozen. We took a chance and put the food we placed in the ice chests back in the freezer. Everything was fine several hours later.

I ordered a new defrost timer, it arrived in a couple of days, and replaced the old one with it in a matter of minutes by disconnecting the wire harness from the old timer, removing the 2 screws holding it onto the bracket, screwing the new timer to the bracket, reconnecting the wires harness, and done. It's been a week or so and no problems.

Freezer was getting all iced up...

Watched the defrost timer to see that it wasnt moving, looked the part number up on your site and it even had a picture of it so I knew I was getting what I needed, ordered it when it came I took out the screws holding it in place unplugged old one and plugged in the new one, freezer works like new... :))

freezer was stuck in defrost mode - - stayed at 30 degrees

slid freezer away from wall - - bottom left hand corner was the frost timer - - removed two philip head screws - - unpluged timer and installed new timer - - turned timer past first click to a little past second click (freeze cycle) - - slid freezer back FINISHED - - YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST WITH YOUR WEB PAGE AND HELP!!!!! Next day freezer was at 0

Refrigerator was not cooling

This was a simple job. Raised the flap in the back that houses the compressor, removed the wire that holds the relay, pulled out the old relay and pushed the new one on. Replaced wire holder and that was it. Plugged it frig and freezer is at zero and lower compartment at 35. As easy as brushing your teeth!

freezer kept icing over, refrigerator too hot

First, I unplugged the appliance. Safety, first.Than I removed the shield which was held in by screws. This covered the fan, thermometer.The defrost thermostat was taken out, with a little extra force. The wires on the defective part were no longer attached to the part. The instructions were easy to follow in replacing the defrost thermostat. I stripped the coating on the wire, attached it with the enclosed electical bugs. The assy was able to follow, and the part went back on. The refrigerator is working perfectly. I couldn't have done it without the help in diagnosing the problem and with the speedy delivery of the new part. Thanks for all your help and the ease of the installing the new part!

Refrigerator quit running

I located the part that was the culprit as it had buzzed very much before quitting. This is an easy removal as the part is in a two prong jack and just needs to be carefully removed with the new part inserted back in the jack provided. The refrigerator works fine now, but the run capacitor will still buzz on start up of the compressor. I do hope this is normal in this model? anyway it runs fine mow. Thank you.

Freezer was not cycling and started freezing up around the compressor but was not able to freeze inside the box.

I knew that the problem had to do with the timer so I went online and looked at the schematic diagrams on Partselect and identified the part that should handle the problem. I ordered it and it arrived fairly quickly. It took a Phillips screw driver and about fifteen minutes to remove the old part and replace it with the new one. Very easy repair. It is working as it should now.

Coils freezing up and refrigerator would get warm

Wasn't sure if it was the derost timer or the heating element. Since the timer was much cheaper, I bought it and crossed my fingers.My story is like the others. Unplug the refrigerator, snip the old wires, strip back the wire insulation, use the supplied connectors to attach the new defrost timer to the existing wiring.Success! My coils no longer freeze up.Only difficulty is I am a large guy, and fitting my upper body into the freezer was challenging.

Freezer was getting a build up of frost on the condenser and wasn't cooling.

First I remove the back panel which had 4 screws. Then I removed the ice maker. The icemaker is held in place by the 2 screws that requires backing the screws out just a litter, than lift up and remove the electrical connector. Used a volt ohm meter to check the resisitant in the heater element and the defrost timing switch. Both tested good and that left only the thermostat. Removed and replaced the thermastat swich. I cut the ends of the old switch and crimp the ends of wire with the crimps that came with the swict i purchased from parts select. My refrigerator is working properly and making ice like normal.

Fridge not cooling

My fridge side had warmed up to 70 degrees but the freezer side was still cold. The coils inside had iced up. After thawing with a hair dryer, it froze back after another week. I removed the old defrost thermostat and wired the heater strip directly and turned on the defrost timer. It began melting the ice so that ruled out the heater strip being bad. I couldn't get a reading with my ohm meter on the defrost thermostat so I took a chance and bought the part. Installation was a breeze and it fixed the problem.